Concrete piling wall unit



May 2l, 1946. A. HOOD CONCRETE PILING WALL UNIT Filed Feb. 1'5, 1945 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INveN-roR:

Hndrew Hood Patented May 21, 1946 UNITED CGNCEETE FILING WALL UNITAndrew Hood, Llanwrda, Wales Application February 15, 1945, Serial No.578,055 In Great Britain February 10, 1944 9 Claims. t (Cl. (i1-59) Thisinvention is for improvements in'or re lating to concrete piling wallunits and has for an object to improve thealignment of the piles duringdriving operations with a view to ensuring that in the driven state thealignment o the piles is correct.

In my prior British patent speciiioation No. 342,240 I have describedconcrete piling wall units having longitudinal tongues formed on thedriving and drivenfaces.

The term driving face indicates that face of the unit beingdriven'rwhich is adjacent to-the driven face ofthe unit already inposition. This term driven face meansA the free (i. e. disengaged) faceof the unit last driven,

The piling wall units of my prior construction are provided withVtongues on the driving and driven facesv which tongues extend oversubstantially the whole length of the driving and-driven faces of thepiling wall unit there being interruptions for the relief of materialtrapped between the end of the tongue on the driving face and thetongue-on the driven face. The relief or escape of the material takesplace through these interruptions and the interruptions are staggeredon'the driving and driven faces so that when the piling wall units aredriven into their proper relative positions the interruptions inthetongue on the driven face will bevobscured by the remaining portion ofthe tongue on the driving face and vice versa.

Iny that prior specific-ation, I described the formation of a cavitybetween the adjacent driven and driving faces of a pair of piling wallunits formed by means of a rebate formed in the upper part ofA one ofthe tongues; into this cavity there was poured mortar to form -apositive seal between the units so as'to prevent percolation of water,silt or the like from the front' to the back *of the assembled pilingwall units or vice versa.

According to the present invention, there is provided a concrete pilingwall unit having a driving and a driven face, a tongue formed on thedriving face extending along substantially the whole length of saiddriving face, a rebated tongue formed on the driven face in a positioncomplementary to said first tongue and extending along substantially thewhole length of said driven face with the rebate thereon terminatingshort of the end of said tongue,said tongue and said rebated tonguebeing so disposed that a cavity for sealing material is formed betweenthe driven and driving faces of adjacent wall units, and a guide membersecured to the driven face of said Wall unit to liewithin said rebate toengage with the tongue and driving face of an adjacent wall unit or witha guide member positioned therein.

According to one feature of the invention, the guide member comprises apipe of such a size as to engage withv all four walls of the rebatewhich define the cavity whereby vthe wall unit being driven is guided inits proper relationship with the wall unit last driven; the pipemay beeither round or square incrosssection. v

The pipe is secured in position,Y before the wall unit is slungforrdriving, by means of a strapping member at the top'of the wall unitand by engagement with a projection formed on or securedto the wall unitin an appropriate position near to the bottom of the rebate. When theWall unithas been driven intoA position the pipe is charged with mortarand gradually withdrawn from the cavity as the mortar is extruded fromYits end to ll up the cavity and thereby to form a seal between the pairof adjacent Wall units which may extend for the full length of thecavity. The pipe can, of course, beused again.

According to another feature of the invention the driving and drivenfaces of the uniteach have attached thereto or secured therein aU-shaped metal interlocking member, constituting vsaid guide member,extending along a part of the length thereof, so located as to lie inthe cavity formed between pairs of adjacent units, the cavity beingformed by a rebate in the longitudinal tongue on the driven faceextending from the top end.

The advantage of the above-described construction lies in that thetongue on the driving face will' eng-age with the side of the U-shapedmetal Vinterlocking member on the driven face and consequentlythroughout the whole of'v the driving operation the unit being drivenwill be guided. The interlocking of the two U-shaped metal interlockingmembers ensures that the units are positively retained in their correctrelative positions throughout the Whole of the driving operation,

The U-shaped metal interlocking members c-an either be continuous orthey can be discontinuous but in the casewhere discontinuousinterlocking members are utilised the discontinuity must be such thatthere is a positive interlock throughout the whole of the drivingVoperation from the time that the interlocking first takes place.

The following is a description of Various embodiments'of the inventiondescribed in relation to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the driven side of a concrete wallpiling unit,

Figure 2 shows the driving side of a concrete wall piling unit,

Figure'3 is a sectional plan showing the engagement between adjacentconcrete piling wall units, Y

Figure 4 shows a round cross section pipe act-V ing as guide member, Y

Figure 5Vshows a square lcross section pipe,

Figure 6 shows one method of securing the j grout pipe near the' foot ofthe wall unit,

Figure 'l shows one method of securing the l pipe at the head of thewall unit,

Figure 8 shows the arrangement of a jetting i pipe,

Figure 9 illustrates the use of interlocking grip i members,

Figure 10 is a modification of the arrangement of Figure 9 and Figure 11shows a further modification of interlocking grip units in conjunctionwith aV pipe.

The concrete piling wall unit illustrated inside elevation in Figures 1and 2 shows respectively the driven and driving faces of a wall'unit,the

wall unit being indicated generally by the referl ence numeral I.

The driving face has a-tongue 2 extending over substantially the wholeof its length and extending approximately across half the width of thedriving face. On the driven face the tongue 3 extends over substantiallythe whole length of the driven face in a similar manner to the tongue V2but is formed with a rebate dthe arrangement being such that when twowall units are in position they form a cavity in the manner shown inFigure 3 and indicated by therreference numeral I I showing thecavityrfilled with a sealing material nsuch as cement grout or mortar. n

Disposed within the rebate 4 is a grout pipe,

Vindicated in Figures 4 and 5 by the reference characters 8 and I2,indicating respectively round cross section and square cross sectionpipes.

In order tov locate Vthe lowermost end of the pipe a peg or the likeindicated at 6 in Figure V(i is secured in the bottom end of the tongue3 to .extend up tinto the rebate 4 and this peg may be secured in thewall unit by a iish-tail portion bedded lin the wall unit as shown at 1.

The-upper end of the pipe may be located in Yposition by means of ametalgrip'member indi-` The grip member 9 sur-` the next wall unit issuspended in a position such that the side face of the tongue 2 abutsagainst the driven face of the last wall unit and the pipe 8 or I2located in the rebate 4 in the tongue 3 on the driven pile engagesagainst the driving face of the driving pile. By this means the Vdrivingpile is being guided throughout the whole of the Adriving operation inits proper relationship with respect to the drivenpile and to facilitateto facilitate jetting during the driving of the" driving pile as iscommonly done. The projecting pipe I3 may beV formed with a screw-threadforV engagement with a corresponding screw-thread on the pipe B o Figure4 so that, during driving ofthe wall unit, the pipe 8 ymay be screwed onto the pipe I3 so that jetting may be effected whilst at the conclusionof driving the pipe 8 is unscrewed from the pipe I3 and is used forconveying grout into the cavity f ormed by the rebate 4 so as to formthe seal II shown in Figure 3.

A modification of the arrangement described with relation to theforegoing gure is illustrated in Figure 9 in which, instead of locatinga pipe such as 8 or I2 within the rebate, an interlocking member Il issecured within the rebate 4 having an end- IS whichris arranged so as toengage within the space formed in the U of a cooperating interlockingmember I8 secured in theVv driving'side of the driving unit andhavingits 1 U end 20 arranged to engage in the UvformedV by this thelowermost end I5 of the driving pile is a,

champfered to assist in keeping the foot of the driving pile in closeengagement with the driven face of the driven pile whilst the foot I6 ofthe unit is similarly cut away so as to further assist the pressure ofthe footY of the unit against the already drivenunit; the position ofthe parts I5 the member II- It will be appreciated that the driving pileis lowered into position Vsothat the member I8 is so placed that the end20 thereof interiocks with the member n and its end ls to 'i provide apositive interlock whereby the driving pile is positivelyV guidedthroughout the whole of A the driving operation. Y A Y The interlockingmembers I'I and I8 may be formed of the usual wedge grip shape insection (as shown in Figure 9) or alternatively they may be formed fromstandard sections such as bulb angles-with equal or unequal angles orthey may even consist simply of bent plate, for example, of a thicknessof about a 1A". v, .f Y The interlocking members VI'I, IBmay'bepermanently secured in the driving and driven faces respectively of thepiling wall unit, for example,A

by means of iish-tailedprojections (as shown) being placed inY positionvwhen the unit `is being cast. Withgthe interlocking membersv so securedin the unit `they form a permanent interlock be- Y tweenadjacentrpilingwall units in the finished structure. v f v By reason of the U'shape.ofvthe interlocking members a labyrinthine passage is formed in the cavitybetween adjacent units and this labyrinthine passage may form asufficient seal against the passage of water or silt between the jointsor in any event is very rapidly blocked by the ingress of smallparticles e. g.-si1t. Y l An alternative method of securing theinterlocking members to the 'faces of the piling wall@ unit is shown inFigure 10 and consists in casting the said units with dove-tailedlongitudinal recesses 29 and 30 and in securing the metal interlockingmembers 3| and 32 tothe unit by means of cooperatingly shaped members 2land 22 formed preferably of wood, to which the metal interlockingmembers are secured either bybolts or screws 23 and 24'or. in any otherconvenient manner; -the dove-tailed recesses 29 and 3D and cooperatingmembers 3| and 32 are preferably-slightly Ytapered and are forced intoposition before the unit is to be driven into its final position so thatthe interlocking members'can fulfil their function of guiding andlocking adjacent units together during the driving'operation. When thedriving of course that if preferred the dove-tailed memi bers 2 I, 22carrying the interlocking members3 I, 32 can be left in position inwhich case they 'will themselves effect a seal as described above a1-though it will also be appreciated that if desired,

or if thought necessary, the space left around the l interlockedU-shaped members'may befilled with a sealing composition, for example, agrout might I be poured down so as to block the layrinthine passageabove referred to.'V

A further modification is illustrated in Figure 11 where a number ofanchor units 25 areV fixed respectively along the inner edge of therebate 4 of the tongue 3 and in the angle formed between the drivingface of the unit and the tongue 2. An

interlocking member having a shaped end 2 arranged to slide within thehook-like part 28 of the anchor member 25 is inserted in position bothin the rebate and in the angle between the tongue 2 and the driving faceof the wall unit, whilst at the same time within the rebate there islocated a pipe 8 corresponding with that shown in Figure 4 screwed on tothe end of the pipe I3 corresponding to that shown in Figure 8.

The shape of the interlocking member 26 is such that the two cooperatinginterlocking members 26 mutually embrace the pipe 8 and thereby becomelocked together. The arrangement is such that the interlocking member 26may, when the piles have been driven, be withdrawn from engagement withthe hook 28 of the anchor member 25 while the pipe 8 may be unscrewedfrom the pipe I 3 and withdrawn either prior to or during the groutingoperation.

Thus in the modification shown in Figure 11 the interlocking member andgrouting pipes are recoverable.

The constructions just described not only have the advantage that thedriving face is positively guided and held throughout the whole of thedriving operation but also by reason of the rebate being formed in thetongue on a driven face of a piling wall unit uniformity of depth ofdriving of the several units, in the formation of a wall, can beachieved by reason of the engagement of the metal interlocking member onthe driving face of a unit with the bottom face of the rebate in thelongitudinal tongue in the driven face of the adjacent unit.

In my prior British patent specification No. 324,240 I have describedthe tongues of driving and driven faces as being inclined at an angle tothe direction of the driving of the unit; I have found that this ispossibily slightly disadvantageous as I have found that with the tonguesso formed there was some tendency for rotation of the unit to occurduring driving; therefore it is preferred now to give the bottom-mostend of the projection on the driven side of a unit a slight champferingo1' a 45 angle drift in the line of riving. rlhis champfer or driftassists in keeping the foot ci. a unit closely driven up against thedriven face of the adjacent unit during the driving and this action isfurther enhanced by the usual arrangement of the foot of the unit alsowith a champfer on the driven side. Such champfers ory drifts havealready been described in relationto Figure 8 of the drawings but` arenot to be regarded as forming an essential feature of my construction.

The tongue 2 may be interrupted as in my prior British patentspecification to relieve material trapped during driving whilst thetongue 3 may also, if desired, be similarly interrupted below the rebate4; the interruptions should not coincide with one another in the finallydriven positions of the wall units. i Y

What I claim is:

l1. A concrete piling wall unit having a driving and a driven face, atongue formed on the driving face extending along substantially thewhole length' of said driving face, a rebated tongue formed on thedriven face in a position complementary to said rst tongue and extendingalong substantially the whole length of said driven face with the rebatethereon terminating short of the end of said tongue, said tongue andsaid rebated tongue being so disposed that a cavity for sealing materialis formed between the driven and driving faces of adjacent wall units, aguide member secured to said driven face so as to lie wholly within saidrebate and to extend along substantially the whole length thereof saidguide member being formed with an end portion of arcuate cross-section,a grouting pipe located within said rebate in engagement with saidarcuate portion of said guide member and a second guide member, of thesame shape and of substantially the same length as the first said guidemember, secured to the driving face adjacent the tongue thereon in sucha position that it will cooperate during and after driving with theguide member and pipe on the driven face of a wall unit already driveninto position to form a positive guide and interlock for the wall unitbeing driven.

2. A concrete piling wall unit having a driving and a driven face, atongue formed on the driving face extending along substantially thewhole length of said driving face, a rebated tongue formed on the drivenface in a position complementary to said rst tongue and extending alongsubstantially the whole length of said driven face with the rebatethereon terminating short of the end of said tongue, said tongue andsaid rebated tongue being so disposed that a cavity for sealing materialis formed between the driven and driving faces of adjacent wall units, agrouting pipe releasably engaged with locating means disposed within therebate adjacent the lower end thereof, a guide member secured to saiddriven face so as to lie wholly within said rebate and to extend alongsubstantially the whole length thereof said guide member being shaped toengage with and partly embrace said grouting pipe and a second guidemember, of the same shape and of substantially the same length as thefirst said guide member, secured to the driving face adjacent the tonguethereon in such a position that it will cooperate during and afterdriving with the guide member and pipe on the driven face of a wall unitalready driven into position to form a positive guide and interlock forthe wall unit being driven.

3. A concrete piling wall unit according to claim `2 wherein saidlocating means for the grouting pipe is a jetting pipe communicatingwith the foot of the wall unit and is adapted to convey jetting fluidintroduced into the grouting pipe to the foot of the Wall unit duringdriving thereof.

4. A concrete piling wall unit having a driving and a driven face, atongue formed on the driving

